The Dinosaur Museum News

The almost complete skull of the new species of ankylosaur was discovered from the early Cretaceous rocks, some 112 million years old, in Montana. The dinosaur has been named Tatankacephalus cooneyorum meaning ‘buffalo head’ recognising the similarity in the short horns of the ankylosaur and the modern buffalo. The ankylosaurs were built like tanks with plate-like armour and spikes to deter any attacking dinosaur. Continue Reading…

The skeleton of a new dinosaur species that links sauropods with the very earliest and primitive of dinosaurs has been discovered in South Africa. It has been named Aardonyx celestae and mainly walked on two legs, although sometimes using all four when browsing off vegetation. Scientists have described it as a ‘big, short-footed, barrel-chested, long-necked, small headed dinosaur’. Continue Reading…

Sauropod footprints were discovered over a decade ago on the South Island of New Zealand but their existence has only now been made known. The footprints are 60cms across preserved in sandstone rock, and are visible over an area of some 20km, with one group of 20 dinosaur footprints. Continue Reading…

The oldest known dinosaur so far discovered in Britain is Thecodontosaurus antiquus. It was discovered near Bristol in 1970 but only now has funding been achieved to excavate the dinosaur. Thecondontosaurus was 2.1 metres long, about the size of a kangaroo, and ate plants. It lived on the islands that were around that area in Triassic times about 200 million years ago feeding off the vegetation. Continue Reading…

An almost complete skull of a dinosaur known as Proceratosaurus has been discovered in the collections of the Natural History Museum in London. The fossil dates back 165 million years ago and bears many similarities to T rex. After the skull had been cleaned up of any remaining rock the skull was given a CT scan to allow detailed study of the internal structure. Continue Reading…

Studies of the young T rex skeleton known as Jane have revealed that it has several major bite marks in the upper jawbone. It is believed these are the result of play fighting and were most probably made by another T rex. The wounds were not life threatening and would have healed over time, but the dinosaur would have had the scars for life. Continue Reading…

A giant dinosaur bone measuring some 1.4 metres long has been found in the Cotswolds. It is from one of the huge sauropods that would have roamed what is now Europe during the Jurassic period. This particular bone was excavated from Oxford Clay, which are marine deposits. Continue Reading…